ANA Urges Congress to Enact Critical Nursing Priorities in 2022 Year-End Legislation
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Keziah Proctor, keziah.proctor@ana.org
Shannon McClendon, shannon.mcclendon@ana.org
SILVER SPRING, MD - As 2022 concludes, the American Nurses Association (ANA) is calling on the 117th United States Congress to enact in any end-of-year package legislation to support the nation’s nursing workforce. These legislative priorities are necessary to protect nurses in the workforce, support their mental health and well-being and remove barriers that they often face when providing safe and quality patient care:
- R. 1195/S. 4182, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act. This legislation would require Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to develop and enforce specific standards for health care and social service employers that will hold them accountable for protecting their employees from workplace violence. This issue has been a long-standing concern prior to the pandemic and recent increases in instances of workplace violence have shown why passage of this legislation is so critical.
- R. 8812, the Improving Access and Care to Nurses (I CAN) Act. This legislation would permanently remove barriers to care and increase access to services provided by Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) under the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
- R. 851/S. 246, the Future Advancement of Academic Nursing (FAAN) Act. This legislation would provide critical funding to modernize educational programs and increase the number of faculty for the education of nurses.
- R. 6087, the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act. This legislation would amend the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) to authorize nurse practitioners (NPs) to certify disabilities and oversee treatment for injured federal workers.
- R. 7666, the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-Being Act of 2021. Specifically, ANA supports the inclusion of H.R. 1384, the Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment (MAT) Act. This legislation would eliminate the duplicative and burdensome requirement that providers, including APRNs, apply for a Drug Enforcement Administration waiver in order to dispense lifesaving buprenorphine to treat those suffering from opioid use disorder.
In addition to these legislative priorities, ANA urges Congress to extend the flexibilities issued during the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) through at least 2024 and work with the Administration to make them permanent. In particular, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) waivers, removing scope of practice barriers for advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and expanding the use of and payment for services provided through telehealth technologies. All of which have demonstrated a positive impact on the health care delivery system for nearly three years.
These legislative asks are vital to supporting nurses and must be included in any year-end legislative package. Tell Congress to Support Key End of Year Legislation for Nurses.
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About the American Nurses Association
The American Nurses Association (ANA) is the premier organization representing the interests of the nation’s 4.3 million registered nurses. ANA advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting a safe and ethical work environment, bolstering the health and wellness of nurses, and advocating on healthcare issues that affect nurses and the public. ANA is at the forefront of improving the quality of healthcare for all. For more information, visit nursingworld.org.